Trump self-destructs his Middle East policy

Up until last weekend, President Trump could claim a broad three-pillar policy in the Middle East: Constraining Iranian aggression, consolidating allies under the U.S. international order, and countering global terrorist organizations.

Ordering a full-scale retreat of military forces north of the Euphrates River this weekend, Trump has detonated all three pillars. The original U.S. military withdrawal from the Syrian-Turkish border area last week was deeply destructive to U.S. interests. The full retreat takes this crisis to a new level of strategic self-destruction. Let’s consider each of the pillars.